Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,834 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after buying an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $114.19 on Monday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.62 and a 1 year high of $158.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 96.45%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.